African Democratic Congress chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo has said he was misled when he previously defended former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi against claims that his administration left debts and other financial obligations behind.
Okonkwo, who served as Obi’s spokesman during the 2023 presidential campaign, said he could no longer repeat some of the claims he made at the time following recent disclosures by the Anambra State Government.
He made the remarks on Sunday during Sunday Politics, a programme on Television Continental (TVC). (Vanguard News)
Okonkwo, who is now a spokesman for the presidential campaign council of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, said he was prepared to change his position when presented with new information.
“You know me, I’m a very passionate person in whatever I believe in. Let me tell you, because I was misled,” he said.
Reflecting on the 2023 presidential campaign, Okonkwo recalled that he had publicly maintained that Obi left office without outstanding debts, unpaid salaries, pensions or gratuities.
“There was a time I told Nigerians that Peter Obi was not owing anything, did not leave any debt, he was not owing any salary. No gratuity. No pension. And I said, go and verify,” he said.
“I’m not a man that stands on my own misunderstanding. When I see the facts, I agree.”
Okonkwo said the Anambra State Government had since raised claims concerning eight external financing facilities associated with projects undertaken during Obi’s tenure, as well as alleged salary arrears involving workers at the state-owned water corporation.
“The fact is, the Anambra State Government said he borrowed eight loans. The fact is that Anambra State said that at the water corporation, he was owing workers there all the salaries, all the arrears. I cannot say the same thing that I said about Peter Obi in 2023,” he said.
The comments come amid an ongoing dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the nature and size of financial obligations linked to his administration.
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The state government has said eight external financing facilities connected with projects undertaken during Obi’s tenure had a combined contracted value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million outstanding as of June 30, 2026. The government has cited the figures in arguing that financial obligations from the period remained outstanding. (Trending News)
Obi has rejected the characterisation of the $123.77 million as debt he left behind, saying he neither approached financial institutions to borrow money nor issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State during his tenure.
He has also argued that the figures combine different categories of multilateral financing and should not be presented as a single debt incurred by his administration. Obi cited Debt Management Office figures which, according to him, showed Anambra’s external debt at about $30 million when he left office in March 2014. (Channels Television)
Okonkwo also revisited his previous defence of Obi’s family in relation to claims surrounding an expensive wristwatch allegedly worn by one of President Bola Tinubu’s sons.
“There was a time they figured out that Tinubu’s son was wearing a watch worth up to N135 million,” he said.
“I ran out on television and I said nobody from Peter Obi’s family can ever wear such a thing when people are dying in poverty. I stuck my reputation on it. Can I still say that today?”
Explaining how his approach to Obi had changed, Okonkwo said his role during the 2027 election would differ from his position during the 2023 campaign.
“That’s why I said in 2023, I campaigned for them as the examination in chief. In 2027, it’s going to be a cross-examination,” he said.
The controversy over Obi’s record in Anambra comes as political parties and their supporters increasingly scrutinise the records of potential contenders ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Obi served as governor of Anambra State from March 2006 to March 2014, with his first tenure interrupted by impeachment in November 2006. He returned to office after a court overturned the impeachment and subsequently handed over to Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014.
The competing claims over Anambra’s historical debt position remain disputed, with the state government maintaining that financial obligations linked to projects during Obi’s tenure remain outstanding, while Obi disputes the way those obligations have been attributed to his administration. (Premium Times Nigeria)